"We have some new thoughts," Addesa said, "we're going to try some new things. They have great special teams."

One way to stop the Crimson power-play is to keep it off the ice. In other words, don't commit any penalties. This won't be easy for an RPI squad that prides itself on its close-checking, hard-hitting style.

And if the Crimson power play performs with its usual zip, only Engineer goalie Gavin Armstrong (3.38 goals-against average, .889 save percentage) will be able to do anything about it.

"We need great goaltending," Addesa said.

Burned Out

The Engineers don't have nearly the offensive fire that they did two years ago--when they set half-a-book-full of ECAC and national records. In fact, RPI doesn't have a player among the ECAC's top-10 scorers. Or among the top-20. You have to go all the way down to number 24 to discover RPI forward Brian Ferreira, a freshman who has a 13-11--24 line.

But any team that manages to topple a favored foe in a quarterfinal match has something going for it.

"I've seen determination on this team that I haven't seen in 20 years," Addesa said.

"This team seems alive," RPI Captain Neil Herberg said.

The Crimson will throw two forces against that determination: the power-play and defense. Devin (1.89 g.a.a., .918 save percentage) got the wins in net against RPI earlier in the season, but Dickie McEvoy (2.28, .908) may get the call tonight.

Whichever goaltender appears for Harvard, he'll be helped by a stellar Harvard defense, led by first-team ECAC defensemen Mark Benning and Randy Taylor.

"The areas where people doubted us in the beginning of the year are the areas that have really come through," Cleary said. "The biggest area for us has been our defense."